Peggy McAffee

Peg was born in L.A., and studied classical piano as a child. She attended Long Beach City and State colleges where while majoring in music education, she discovered electronic music and mastered the early analog machines including Moog and Oberheim modulars, and also learned recording. She started out as a 2nd engineer for some of the grand old L.A. studios, including the legendary Warner Amigo, where she got to work with The Neville Brothers, Jimmy Buffett, J. D. Souther, Joe Walsh, Rickie Lee Jones, Randy Newman and David Lee Roth.

It was the very early years of the media technology revolution, and she and a partner Greg Bartheld bought a Fairlight IIx CMI and began exploring a new technology called "sampling", field recording and sequencing with some major artists and producers. By 1984, they eventually founded Ignited Productions in Hollywood. Ignited was one of the world's first MIDI-based 24-track studios and also featured a Neve 8058 console, Studer tape machines and a large collection of newly-dubbed "vintage" outboard gear and tube mics. Her clients included Brian Wilson, Motown's Brian & Eddie Holland, Jim Messina and Chicago. The studio was featured on the cover of MIX magazine in September of 1987.

Soon afterward, Peg became involved with Apple Computers at the beginning of their exploration into music and film applications. She began a lifelong fascination with human-machine interfaces when, as director of Filmsonix, a consulting arm for The Record Plant, she helped clients integrate the new Macintosh computer into studio applications. While at Filmsonix, she created an influential industry trade show, MacMusicFest, co-sponsored by Apple and held on the Paramount studio lot in December of 1987, which included a panel of notable computer pioneers such as Alan Kay who is an Apple Fellow and who was the team leader at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center where the Mac user interface had it's genesis.

Peg first went into film and TV music for Tyrell/Mann Music Group as an engineer, working with arranger/composer Paul Buckmaster of Elton John's original band. She again became involved with Apple as part of the development team for an early digital download company called MusicNet. They were building an early model for a retail kiosk network of sheet music for distribution in conjunction with print publishers, and they had proprietary notation software and a deal with Warner Brothers Music. After stalling in the licensing of additional catalogs due to legacy print publishing deals that were not ready for a change, the company folded from a shortage of seed capital. She then continued her recording engineering career at Studio 56 / Radio Recorders working with Warren Zevon, Van Dyke Parks, Ringo Starr and many others.

From there, Peg entered film and TV post sound. Starting out as a Foley recordist, she moved into sound effects editing in the newly digital sound department at Warner Brothers. There she worked on Walker Texas Ranger for over four seasons, and Disney animation (where she received a Golden Reel award). At West Productions, she worked on David E. Kelley shows, including The Practice, Ally McBeal and also the X Files (where she was again nominated for a Golden Reel). At Sony Pictures, she was a sound editor for Party of Five, Family Law and Baywatch.

Peg has worked on over one hundred independent films, including Smoke Signals, Hellraiser VI, and Hitcher II, most recently in an independent partnership with veteran Warner Brothers mixer Frank Jones Jr. at his facility Castle Oaks Productions where she has been working as a co-supervisor, mixer and sound editor. She has been a champion of independents for over 10 years from studios such as Hallmark, Universal, Columbia/Tri-Star, Miramax, Dimension and Lionsgate.

In 2004 she married Jeff Routledge who as the Director of Systems Infrastructure for Fox Audience Network and MySpace as well as hulu.com has built over twelve Data Centers and scaled one of the largest websites in history. They have had quite a busy and exciting life as these companies have exploded and their hardware footprint has grown so quickly. It has been like "tech reality TV" to watch. But her favorite moments have always come from seeing the reactions of directors when they hear the polished sound to their picture for the first time. This is the food that keeps her hungry for more.